15 March 2000

Vajpayee and Clinton: A forced one-on-one?

15 March 2000The Times of India

A forced one-on-one ?

By Siddharth VaradarajanThe Times of India News Swervice

NEW DELHI: According to an informed Indian source, the US was notkeen on a one-on-one meeting between President Clinton and PrimeMinister Vajpayee and had even struck off a planned encounter fromthe list of final events being drawn up. It was only after theIndian side insisted that a meeting take place that the Americansreluctantly agreed to schedule the one-on-one. Even now, it is byno means certain what shape the meeting will finally take, how longit will last, and whether or not one aide each will be present.

While too much should not be read into Clinton's aversion tospending time alone with Vajpayee - most likely the prime minister'slack of loquaciousness is giving him pause for concern - New Delhiis eager for a prolonged one-on-one because of the positivesymbolism such a meeting would generate. However, one-on-ones aresomething of a mixed blessing. If the chemistry is wrong, disasterscan result. And if the chemistry is right, leaders run the risk ofbeing charmed into making commitments that may not be in their bestinterest.

German chancellor Helmut Kohl used such a meeting with MikhailGorbachov to trick the Soviet leader into agreeing to the rapidreunification of Germany. Gorbachov kept his word but theinvestments worth $80 billion that Kohl promised never materialised.At Simla, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto promised Indira Gandhi a step- by-stepconversion of the Line of Control into a de jure border, only toresile from his unrecorded commitment once he returned home.

One-on-one meetings between Indian prime ministers and US presidentsover the years have had mixed results. After Nehru's 1949tete-a-tete with Truman, George McGhee, US assistant secretary ofstate at the time, wrote: ``Nehru and Truman didn't hit it off atall. Rumor has it that, in his first informal meeting with thePresident, he was offended by Truman's extended discussion of themerits of bourbon whiskey.'' This was the trip Nehru later summed upwith his memorable line: ``One should never visit America for thefirst time.''

Nehru struck a good rapport with Eisenhower in 1956 but hisencounter with Kennedy in 1961 led the latter to describe it as``the worst head-of-state visit I have had.'' John Galbraithrecalled later that the US president did most of the talking.``Nehru simply did not respond.'' Arthur Schlesinger, Kennedy'sbiographer, quoted the president as saying that talking to Nehru was``like trying to grab something in your hand, only to have it turnout to be fog.'' The fact of the matter is that this was the heightof the Cold War and India's views on issues like Vietnam, Berlin anddisarmament were sharply opposed to those of the US.

While Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi reportedly got on well withRonald Reagan, Narasimha Rao's meeting with Clinton in Washingtonwas considered painful. Jimmy Carter's one-on-one chat with MorarjiDesai in 1978 was also a disaster; Carter had been led to believethat Desai could be persuaded to sign the NPT but Morarjibhai wouldhave none of it. As soon as the meeting ended, a frustrated Cartertold his secretary of state, Cyrus Vance: ``When we get back, Ithink I should write him another letter, just cold and very blunt.''Unfortunately for Carter, an open microphone picked up his remarksand relayed them to the press.